Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Whenever someone asked me why I hadn’t done a baguette video
yet, I’d tell them because you just can’t recreate an authentic loaf of French
bread at home.

I’d explain about the water, the flour, the centuries old
starters, and the steam-injected ovens. I told them what I’d been told; that it
was simply impossible, or as the French say, "impossible!"

That was, until I actually tried to make some. Much to my
amazement, not only was it possible, it was really pretty simple. The key is
water. That goes for the dough, and the baking environment. The dough must be
very sticky, as in hard-to-work-with sticky. This is nothing well-floured
fingers can’t conquer, but I did want to give you a heads-up.

Besides the water content in the dough, the oven must also
be moist. This humidity, in addition to some occasional misting will give the
crusty baguettes their signature look. How does this work? You know how when someone
pours water on the rocks in a dry sauna, and suddenly it feels way hotter? It
probably has something to do with that.

Anyway, who cares why it works, the important thing here is
that real, authentic, freshly-baked baguette is now an everyday reality. One
thing worth noting; I adapted this no-knead version from a recipe I found here
last year. The original is in metric, so I’ve converted it, but also included
the original flour and water units in case you want to get it exact. I hope you
give this easy, and so not impossible baguette recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

For 4 smaller or 2 large baguette:

1/4 tsp dry active yeast (I used Fleischmann's Rapid Rise
Yeast)(Note: if you want to use a traditional bread technique, add the whole package of yeast (2 1/4 tsp) and proceed as usual)

1 1/2 cups water (325 grams)

1 3/4 tsp salt

18 oz by weight all-purpose flour (500 grams), about 4 cups

- Mix dough and let rise 12-14 hours or until doubled

- Punch down and shape loaves, let rise covered with floured
plastic 1 to 1 1/2 hr or until almost doubled

- Bake at 550 F. about 15 minutes or until well-browned

- Spray with water before baking, at 5 minutes, and at 10
minutes during cooking time

My oven has a tendency to scorch the tops of things when I bake at over 400 F, how can I prevent that from happening? Or can I bake these at just 400 F, would they turn out the same? I'm assuming the crisp crust needs a hotter oven.

Chef John this is a miracle! I made this today using your exact instructions and you are right you really can't mess this up! Two years of culinary school and one year of pastry and I still can't get bread right...and then there was foodwishes! I love this blog i love the channel thank you!

I make the no knead bread from this site often. This baguette looks so amazing with the big holes. I don't seem to be able to get the big holes with AP flour. I have better luck with bread flour (at least 4 gm of protein per serving. My best bread comes from Stone Buhr bread flour or King Arthur's Sir Lancelot high gluten flour. Even then the holes aren't as big and lovely as yours. Any suggestions?

This was dinner tonight. Seriously--I served it for the entrée, with a side of apples, cheese, butter, honey, lox, etc. and let everyone assemble their own--or not. Mostly, we just ate it. It was yummy--exactly as advertised. Will make again and again and again. Thank you so much!(P.S. also want to use your crème fraiche recipe with your homemade cream cheese recipe to make a spread to go on it. Next time for sure!)

I just mixed my batch and it's rising now (and it's 4 AM here!). Let's see tomorrow how it goes.

I forgot to add the salt before mixing in the flour, so I had to add it when the dough was in the "OMG it's too dry" stage. To uniformize the salt distribution I had to do some folding and pressing with the wooden spoon, let's hope it does not break the "no knead" rules.

To Deniz, about the scorching, the guy from vivalafocaccia has the same problem with his oven and he puts an aluminium foil on top of the bread after he gets the desired browness (avout halfway into baking)

P.S.: Thanks for giving the measurements in grams, Chef! I have to press less buttons in my scale ;)

Umm. Further experiment: if you use a little too much water on the crust, you get a thicker shell, more like a Philly hoagie roll. I love this, too. Just different.

Also, if the oven isn't hot enough to brown the crust after 20 minutes, I move the rack up and turn the broiler on. Seems to finish things nicely. Because of the low sugar and no oil, this is not a dough that browns quickly unless the heat is really high, but the inside does need enough time to cook.(true confession: I've been making this bread for four days now. Can't seem to get enough!)

I would say, after following the written ingredient directions (although to his credit he did suggest otherwise in the video), I would say that in this case, this is "Do as I say, not as I say!" Which may be confusing, but if you watch the video you'll understand.

4 cups by cup measurement is WAY too much and will turn into a near-death wad of crumbling flour, nothing near the sticky soft end result you're looking for. I scrapped it after realizing it was hopeless and pulled out the scale. 2nd time around - PERFECT. Measure by weights, the suggestion is sound!

Haven't made this yet, but I'm going to. After forming the loaves. I'm going to sprinkle the corn meal on my work surface and lay the loaves on top and lightly tap on them (just enough to get some corn meal to adhere) and then put them on my baking sheet. Should eliminate the burnt meal problems.

Making it right now. Scooped up four cups of flour but it ended up being too much. Added a bit more water and it was fine. Hopefully this didn't screw up the taste. Guess I'll find out tmw. Really should buy a scale...

Making this now. Scooped 4 cups of flour and it was too much. Added a little bit more water and it was fine... though i hope it didn't screw up the taste. Guess I'll find out tmw. Really should buy a scale.

I've made this recipe a couple of times now using the KitchenAid mixer. I set it on the lowest setting until the flour is incorporated then bump it to '3' until it 'just' pulls away from the bowl. Works like a charm. THANK YOU CHEF JOHN!!

Chef i have to say not one of your recipes have failed me yet. These included. My crappy oven only goes to 250c but just gave it a bit more time and was perfect. I never made dough before and theres were incredible. Also ur wings kick arse both my girlfriend and i thank you

Chef John, we really need your point of view on what connieemeraldeyes said. Your Silpat is 480 F max recommended but you are baking at 550 F. I've played with fire today with 500 F (on my well calibrated oven) instead of my usual 475 F just to see what happens with my made in China cheap clone but 550 F is a bigger stretch and not really necessary as 15 min @ 250-260 C is right on target with the pros in France. Do you know something we don't (like Silpat can actually handle more than it claims), or was it a calculated risk or a simple oops on your side? Or maybe we shouldn't be too tight and literal on recommended max temps?

Just have this a shot. To be honest I've never cooked bread at all before but when I saw how easy it looked in your video I wanted to try. Did everything step by step with the video. My oven only goes to 500F but I figured that would still be good enough. I sprayed every 5 minutes but the baguettes still did not brown. They cooked through but they are very pale. I'll try it again and try raising the rack to a higher position in the oven. Otherwise I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it work.

Hi Chef, on my 3rd attempt! It's was with bread flour (ran out of AP) and this was ok. Tried again with AP but too dry. Now on the third batch which had a beautiful sticky consistency but all three batches have had a tendency to 'spread' resulting in very flat (almost ciabatta) style loaves. Any guidance? Cheers Sarah

The day you posted this recipe I was dying to try it. I finally did a couple weeks later I haven't been able to stop. Bread making was never something I enjoyed, too much of a day was devoted to waiting for dough to rise. This is the perfect alternative, 10 minutes to mix, let sit for half a day, 10 more minutes to shape, another short rise, and 15 minutes to bake. So easy! And the resulting loaves are more delicious than any home made bread I've tried. Thanks Chef!

I've made this a couple of times now, with great results, except that I find it extremely difficult to shape the bread when it's so sticky. Any tips for that?

Also, I had a bit of an accident... Instead of spraying the loaves with water, I poured some water directly in an empty metal tray underneath the loaves. That filled the oven with steam, but some water splashed back onto the glass panel of the oven's door, and it ... well, it exploded with a loud bang! Glass everywhere (except on my loaves!).

First of all, thank you for all your video's. You really changed the way my wife and I eat. Much appreciated.You're like the Bob Ross of food. Your video's are hilarious.

I tried the baguette last night for Christmas dinner, and as nice as the bread was, the dough flattened out too much the second time I let it rise.They were in a gorgeous shape, but after an hour and a half they looked more like a Chiabatta.

Again, the bread was amazing but how I can make the dough a bit "stiffer". Or stiff enough so it stays in the baguette shape a bit better while it's rising.Please note I let it rise 16 hours overnight instead of 12 (wasn't back in time).Could that have been the issue?

First of all, thank you for all your video's. You really changed the way my wife and I eat. Much appreciated.You're like the Bob Ross of food. Your video's are hilarious.

I tried the baguette last night for Christmas dinner, and as nice as the bread was, the dough flattened out too much the second time I let it rise.They were in a gorgeous shape, but after an hour and a half they looked more like a Chiabatta.

Again, the bread was amazing but how I can make the dough a bit "stiffer". Or stiff enough so it stays in the baguette shape a bit better while it's rising.Please note I let it rise 16 hours overnight instead of 12 (wasn't back in time).Could that have been the issue?

Those struggling with oven temps and the crust not browning could try two things. Spray only onto bread, since water drops the temp of the oven significantly. And work fast, closing the oven as soon as you can.

I made it twice, came out tasting pretty good. Great recipe. But why don't I get that smell of baked bread? Is it because of the type of yeast? I thought the whole house would smell heavenly after baking the bread, but nope... Any suggestions?Thank you very much.Carmen

I need some help! My baguettes looked great but they were pretty raw on the inside. My oven would only go up to 515. here are my questions: do I put the pan of water inside the oven as I start preheating it or do I preheat to 515 and then put in the pan of water and the bread? Also, does it matter if I use a glass pan for the water or does it have to be cast iron? in the original recipe, they let the dough rise only for 1.5 hours. you do it for 12 hours. why such a difference? Is it crucial to let the shaped baguettes rise for an hour before you put them in the oven? thank you!!!

I put in a large casserole of boiling water at start, which initially filled the oven with steam - then sprayed at 5 min intervals as suggested - but result was not as crisp as shown.Wonder if my cooler oven was to blame ?Though it browned nicely in 15 mins, the temperature never topped 350 degrees.

Thank you for this blog!!!!!I am making ciabatta using your recipe for a year and decide to check your web page.... OMG!!!Last week I made French banquet twice! Then lasagna and today caramel apple tart:)I check your recipes every day, pick what I want and make it. Your blog inspires me:)Thank you!

Hi, I have a question about measurements, specifically for the flower. 18 oz is approximately 500 grams, but according to my measuring cup it is not about 4 cups, it's actually about 2.5 cups. Can you please provide the exact amount of flower (in cups) that you are supposed to use with 1.5 cups of water and 1/4 tsp of yeast. If I follow your proportions in grams as described in your recipe, I end up with dough that is way too runny, it doesn't look like your in your video. For yours, did you put 4 cups of flower or 500 grams? thank you!

Hi, I have a question about measurements, specifically for the flower. 18 oz is approximately 500 grams, but according to my measuring cup it is not about 4 cups, it's actually about 2.5 cups. Can you please provide the exact amount of flower (in cups) that you are supposed to use with 1.5 cups of water and 1/4 tsp of yeast. If I follow your proportions in grams as described in your recipe, I end up with dough that is way too runny, it doesn't look like your in your video. For yours, did you put 4 cups of flower or 500 grams? thank you!

4 cups is about 500 grams! You're confusing weight and volume. A cup is 8 fluid oz, but weight varies with ingredient. So a "cup" does NOT have a weight... A cup of lead weighs more than a cup of flour. A cup of properly measured flour is about 4.5 oz or about 120 grams each. Yes, the dough is very wet, but you work more flour in as needed!

aha! you're absolutely right, but I've never seen any metrics measurements in american recipes so it freaked me out, especially since you say in the video that you insist we measure everything by weight :) I'm guessing you've kept those measurements since you were convening a european recipe. well, I'm gonna go with cups since I don't have a kitchen scale. So 1.5 cups of water and 4 cups of flower. I'll make it 3.5 and then I'll see if mine looks like yours in the video, if not I'll make it 4. The other bread that I make with this dough (in the dutch oven) is just a plain loaf and it takes 3 cups of flower. Turns out awesome each time. Thank you for the recipe and for you blog! I'm also making your jerk chicken wings today :)

chef john, why is my dough too dry? even if i followed all ingredients verbatim. its not actually dry,dry. But it is not sticky anymore. I can even hold it in my hands without it sticking on me. tried it twice, got the same result. why is that? thanks!

chef john, why is my dough too dry compared to yours? i followed the ingredients as written in the recipe. but mine was way too dry. i can even touch it with my hands without it sticking on me. tried it twice. what could i have done wrong?

Hi chef and friends, I tried to make this baguette some times exactly as described, but the bread crust become too stiff, very hard to chew. Do you have an idea what is going on?I don´t know if it is the quality of all-purpose flour I use here in Brazil or if it is a issue of temperature.My oven does not reach 550º F, but, as described in manual, reach 500º (I have doubt about that). It is needed more than 30 min for crust start to brown, and that beautiful color come with more time. By this time I feel the bread is overbaked, the baguette start to bend!

If you have a hint, preferably keeping my oven, to solve this problem I will be very gratefull.

Chef John add a Print button to your posts pretty please. This recipe is awesome. Made baguettes for my wife for Mother's Day with Borsin and other yummy toppings for bread. She loved it. I am about to make them again and wanted to print the ingredients and you're forcing me to do so much copy/paste =)

First attempt not quite right but good eats anyway. My baguettes were pretty flat - didn't rise well. I used regular yeast rather than rapid rise yeast. So, it was either the yeast or too much water - and I do weight rather than measuring cups.

I didn't understand the comment "if you want to use a traditional bread technique, add the whole package of yeast". Does that mean I should have used the full packet of yeast? Or does that mean I should have used some other "traditional" bread making technique - like short rise time?? I was confused.

I've tried you recipe twice, and none of them it worked... When I use the amount of yeast indicated, 1/4 tsp = 0,79g, after 12h no rise is obsevable. I live in Brazil and I've used Fleischmann's local dry yeast (Instantâneo, instant in english) supposing that it is aproximately equivalent to your rapid rise. The yeast was recently bought and far from expiration date. When I use the amount indicated in the package it seams to work, although the result is far from yours. Do you think that brazilian Fleischmann yeast is different or that it might be other variable?

Thanks for the fast reply, and for the recipe. I never thought that chlorine or iodine in the water or salt could have an effect. The water here is full of chlorine and all the salt is iodized (law decree). I’ll try mineral water and I’ll search for a salt that doesn’t contain iodine.Thanks AgainDaniel

HiI just want to say that I think you should reconsider the amount of flour to put in. You wrote 18oz, but that does NOT turn out to be 4 cups; not even close. It is 2 2/4 cups. I threw away a copious amount of flour before I found out that 18oz didn't sound like 4 cups. I may sound a little ignorant about this but I think a lot of beginning bakers like me would make the same mistake. Americans stay away from ounces so all I read were the cups. Thank you.

Hi chef John,I have been watching few of your video now and I want to make the stuff. I find the ingredients but not the instructions i can't keep the links open all the time. There is a lot to make...like the no knead breads and Tiramisu... is there a way to find the instruction. I also use paprika to keep all my recipe organized would I be able to do with your recipe...

Hi Chef John. Found your recipe for these wonderful baguettes. Never thought I could bake bread. But my 14 year old son and I did it yesterday. My only problem was that the top of the loaves started to burn. What could this be from. Trying to inspire my son to start his own mobile wood fired bread company so that he can start to save for Princeton. He thought this recipe was the bomb. Except for the burn on the top of the loaves. Any suggestions would be wonderful. By the way you blog is keeping me up all night. So many great ideas and recipes. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

Would it be OK to bake in a convection oven? For most breads, I prefer it because it browns so evenly, but I am not sure if it would be a problem with water in the oven per this recipe. Any idea, Chef?

So I made this bread, just like you said, and it turned out amazing...just like you said! Thanks for showing us the way Chef John! I made these on a cheat meal day, so I went ahead and ate two of the four loafs. I'm ok with this.

Thanks John for the recipe. Set it up last night for the standard 12-14 hours and this morning baked them. Perfect Baguettes this morning. This retired Chef gig is giving me more time to play with lots of recipes that I never had time for.

Thanks for the recipe turned out very well and I am quite pleased. Having a ball being retired from cooking and it gives me lots of time to tinker around with lots of recipes. About to do your burger buns which look inviting.

On 4/10/2015 I tried this recipe and followed direction only I bought regular yeast and did not use the scale for the water used measuring cups. Used a temp of 520 next time 550 made two Baguettes, was really hard to wait for them to cool down! Cut into one on them a bit warm; was great bread simple to make.Tip make on Friday night double the batch and bake on Saturday need about 5 Baguettes for the week wow wonderful recipe... I use them to go with my Greek Salad like you get at Panera Breads. ThanksMike E